Fantasy Phobia 2013: DeSean Jackson

By Adam Pfeifer

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

I’m going to be honest. Ever since he came into the league, I just haven’t been a fan of DeSean Jackson. I don’t like his game, his attitude, nothing. Is he talented? Of course. One of the fastest players in all of football and is pretty tough, Jackson belongs in this league. However, he doesn’t belong on my fantasy team, and he won’t.

His potential is massive, but through five seasons, Jackson hasn’t nearly lived up to it. He’s never caught more than 62 balls in a season, and has only scored more than six touchdowns once. The concerning aspect of his lack of productivity is that he has been targeted at least 100 times in three of those five years. The best way to describe Jackson is a one trick pony. He has blazing speed and will attempt to beat corners on streak routes, but when he can’t get any separation, he is basically a non factor. Jackson hardly ever runs across the middle, which is odd because his speed would be a major advantage in that area. Once defenses take away the home run threat, Jackson struggles to produce.

From a fantasy perspective, Jackson has been brutal. Last year, he finished as the number 61 fantasy receiver. 61. That’s flat out ugly. Granted, he only played 11 games, but throughout his entire career, Jackson has only finished inside the top-15 twice. If you are looking for a PPR option, stay away from Jackson. Throughout his career, he is averaging an unimpressive 3.9 catches per contest. In fact, Jackson has never posted a game in which he caught double-digit passes, and his career high in a game is eight. Clearly, if he doesn’t provide you with that long touchdown catch, he isn’t doing much for your fantasy roster.

Now I know what you may be thinking. With the addition of new head coach Chip Kelly, many believe Jackson will be a huge focal point of the offense and will benefit from Kelly’s fast-paced offense. He does fit the mold of the type of player that would thrive in this style of offense, but Kelly will likely implement a short, intermediate passing attack which could feature quick passes. I’m not convinced that Jackson will operate successfully in this offense just yet because we have never seen him as a possession receiver before. Besides, I think that Kelly’s arrival benefits running back LeSean McCoy more than anyone. During his years at Oregon, Kelly heavily featured the running back, while the majority of his receivers became an afterthought. Over his past three seasons in college, Kelly’s number one wideouts have posted catch totals of 48, 32 and 77. Again, Jackson has never caught more than 62 balls in a season, so is there any reason to believe he will suddenly become a football magnet in 2013?

I’m not sold.

The wide receiver is pretty darn deep in 2013, so why target a headache like Jackson? He has seen his touchdowns and yardage decline over the past three seasons, and there are a handful of guys with just as much upside being drafted around him. Jackson is a fantasy disaster waiting to happen, and quite frankly, isn’t even the best receiver on his team. That’s right, for years now I have firmly believed that Jeremy Maclin has been the better overall talent on the Eagles roster, and entering the final year of his rookie contract, he may be the better fantasy investment in 2013. But that’s for another discussion. To sum everything up, I’m not touching Jackson with a ten-foot pole this season, or any season for that matter. My favorite way to describe him is a versatile talent who has played like a one-dimensional one.